Collision Course with Death
by Deana
Summary: A psycho who hates Frank sets bombs all over a bus, specifically to make Frank fail in saving the passengers. It becomes personal when the team finds out that Jake is on that bus. Inspired by the movie, 'Speed'.
1. Speed Freak! Pun intended, lol

Collision Course with Death

A UC: Undercover story by Deana Lisi

Inspired by the movie, 'Speed' starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.

Disclaimer: I don't own Frank, Jake, or anyone else from the UC team.

"WOO HOO!"

Frank, Alex, and Monica looked up when Cody burst into the Nest, waving his car keys around. 

"I did it! I finally got a new car! Come see!"

The women jumped from their seats and ran as if they were trying to beat each other at a race. Frank shook his head, and followed at a more normal pace. 

"Wow!" he heard Monica exclaim.

Reaching the door, Frank was surprised to see a brand new Mustang Cobra sitting in the driveway, Cody leaning against it, smiling ear to ear.

Yellow. The car was bright yellow.

"How did you manage to afford that?!" Alex asked, going over and looking at the interior. 

"It's not as expensive as you think," Cody told her. "Look at this baby!" he said, very excited. "Can you believe it? It's mine, all _mine_! BWAHAHAHAHA!" 

Frank couldn't help but smile, amused at Cody's enthusiasm. 

Suddenly Cody stopped, and looked around. "Where's Jake? I can't wait to see his face when he gets a load of this!"

"Not here yet," said Alex. 

"Oh," Cody said, frowning.

Suddenly Alex's cell phone rang. "He must've known we were talking about him," Alex said, seeing his cell's number on her caller ID. "Yeah, Jake?" she said. 

The team watched as her face changed from smiling, to shock, and then horror.

"What?" Frank asked, concerned.

Alex looked at him, seeming too shocked to speak. "Jake had to take a bus…his truck wouldn't start…" she paused. 

Monica grabbed her arm. "What's wrong, Alex? Tell us!"

"H-hold on, Jake," she said into the phone. Looking back at Frank, her ice-blue owl eyes reflected panic. "There's bombs on the bus! Some psycho is trying to act out the movie 'Speed', and Jake is on that bus!"

Before anyone could react to that, Frank's cell phone rang, and he answered it, as Alex quickly went back to Jake on hers.

"Donovan."

"Frank!" It was Chief Morgan from the Chicago Police Dept. "We have a major situation here…"

"Bombs on a bus?" Frank asked, hoping that there wasn't something else too.

Morgan stopped. "How the heck did you know?"

Frank closed his eyes, the magnitude of the situation sinking in. "Jake is on it," he said, rubbing a hand over his face with a sigh.

"On the bus? What!"

Frank ran back into the building, for his keys and gun. "Jake just called us. He said some psycho is trying to pull off the movie 'Speed'."

"Yeah, and Frank…the psycho asked for you."

Frank stopped dead. "What?"

"_You_ are the only person he wants working on this. Anyone else tries and he said he'd…" he paused. "He said he'd blow the bus to smithereens."

Frank took a deep breath. "Do we know his name?"

"No, he said he'd call back in…ten minutes from now. You have that long to get to the Station."

"We're on our way," Frank said, running back out. 

Alex was sitting on the steps, trying not to cry, still talking to Jake on her phone.

"Alex…" Frank said. He felt bad for her; she and Jake were as close as brother and sister. "Can I talk to him?" he asked, gently.

Alex looked like she didn't want to hand over her phone, but she did, with a sniff.

"Jake," Frank said. 

"Hey Boss," Jake said back. "Looks like this day is off to a great start."

Frank sighed as he motioned for the team to follow him to his car. "Where's the bus, how many people are on board?"

Jake paused, looking out the window. "We're getting off Rt. 55, Morgan just told the bus driver to get off the highway, to minimize danger to innocent people…"

Frank sighed, as he sped through traffic towards the police station. 

"There's 13 or 14 people, including me and the bus driver," Jake told him. 

"All right," said Frank. "Do you know where the bombs are?"

"No," Jake told him. "I can't see anything to indicate it's true." He paused. "Did Morgan tell you that we can't go under 50, just like the movie?"

This new piece of information upset Frank greatly, and he closed his eyes for a second. _How am I going to save Jake, and all those people?_ He opened his eyes again, feeling his blood pressure spike. "We're almost at the PD, this guy is supposed to call there to talk to me—"

"To you, specifically?" Jake interrupted. "You mean this was a planned thing to get at _you_?"

"Looks that way. We're here, I'll give you to Alex," he said, knowing she probably won't stop talking to Jake through the whole situation, to set her mind as ease over his safety. 

Everyone jumped out of Frank's Volvo, and ran up the steps of the police station. They ran into the foyer, and Frank quickly typed the station's code into the keypad, and opened the main door. 

Suddenly Morgan's head popped out of the door leading to the dispatch desk. "Frank! In here."

Everyone followed, going into the room. 

"Did he call back yet?" Frank asked.

Morgan shook his head. "Should be any second."

Everyone waited, and the phone rang 10 seconds later.

The dispatcher answered it. "Chicago Police." He listened, and handed the phone to Frank without a word.

"This is Frank Donovan," Frank said. 

"Aha! Frankie boy!" he heard. "I knew you'd get there in time. Did you cause any car accidents, in your haste?"

"Who are you?" Frank demanded.

"What? You mean my voice doesn't sound familiar? I'm hurt, Frankie. Maybe mention of our unfortunate run-in a year or two ago will refresh your memory."

Frank waited, trying to place the man's voice.

"I was so good at eluding the authorities," the man went on. "For so long. That is, until _you_ came along and ruined it all for me."

The man's name popped into Frank's head. "Michael Lazarro."

"Ha! You _do_ remember! I'm impressed! Gimme your cell phone number."

Frank sighed, knowing the criminal would need it to keep in contact with them. "555-1123. Get to the point," Frank snapped. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Lazarro repeated. "Isn't it obvious? You succeed at everything, Frankie. Everyone failed at bringing me down except _you_, the mighty Frank Donovan." He paused, sounding angry. "For once, you're gonna fail. I want you to _fail_! There is no way you're gonna manage to save the people on that bus! No way!"

Frank tried to keep the anger from showing in his voice. "What do you want in exchange for their lives?"

"Nothing, they're gonna die. The only thing I want is for _you_ to get on that bus." He laughed. "I know you're gonna try your hardest to save them, no matter what I say. Well, here's your chance. I'm gonna let you get on that bus. How, you might ask? You saw the movie, right? Figure it out!"

With that, he hung up.

Frank handed the phone back to the dispatcher. "Pull that tape and replay it," he said, for the benefit of the others. Taking Alex's phone out of her hand, he walked out of the dispatch room.

"Jake?" 

"Yeah."

"Where is the bus now, I have to board it," Frank asked.

Jake didn't sound surprised at all. "Pulaski Road."

"Perfect," said Frank. "Tell the driver to stay on that road. We'll catch up."

"Okay."

Frank went back in, just in time to hear, 'you saw the movie, right? Figure it out!' 

"Uh," said Cody. "Frank, _have_ you seen the movie?" 

Frank almost smiled at the question. "Yes."

Cody *phewed*.

"Let's go," Frank said.

"Wait!" said Morgan. "You have to get onto a moving bus; it'll be easier with one of the Expeditions."

Frank nodded, as they quickly walked down the stairs, towards the station's garage. "I want the three of you to work on finding out Lazarro's possible location," he told his team. "Get the van, stay in the vicinity. Do _not_ follow the bus." He knew it would be a tough order for them to follow, with Jake and himself both on the bomb-rigged vehicle. 

Everyone hesitated, before nodding, Alex still with her phone to her ear. 

Taking his keys out of his pocket, he handed them to Monica, and the team went one way while Frank and the Chief went another. 

Bursting out the back door of the station, the two of them ran towards an Expedition that was just pulling in. 

"What timing!" Morgan exclaimed, running over. 

Before the officer driving had a chance to put the truck in park, Morgan and Frank jumped in, to the questioning look of the officer. 

"Pulaski road!" said Frank. "Now!"

Without asking questions, the cop threw the truck in reverse, and took off.


	2. Frank Donovan: Hollywood Stuntman? NOT!

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful reviews! They are greatly appreciated!  :)

_*ring*_

Cody picked up his cell phone. "Yeah?"

"Tell Alex to let Jake know we're almost there," said Frank. 

Cody made a face, realizing that Frank couldn't communicate with Jake while Alex was still on the line with him. "Alex! Tell Jake that Frank's almost there."

"Frank's coming, Jake."

Jake sighed at that. He wasn't very optimistic that he'd make it out of here alive, and he didn't want Frank to be killed too. He looked around the bus, at the very scared people. A few of the women were crying or sniffling. His gaze lingered on the face of a young woman cradling an infant, who looked no more then a month old. The woman had a dazed look, as if she couldn't comprehend that this was really happening to her. 

With another sigh, Jake looked over to the bus driver, who was old and unhealthy looking. Jake wondered if he had health problems, or if the fear of the situation was causing his paleness. 

"Jake!" said Alex.

"Yeah?"

"Frank says they're catching up, he can see the bus."

Jake stood from his seat and went towards the back. He could see a police Expedition gaining on them, and realized that Frank was about to do a very dangerous thing; move from the truck to the bus, at 60mph.

"Okay Alex, let me go, I'll call you back when I can."

Alex was reluctant to hang up. "Okay, Jake. Talk to you soon."

"Yup," Jake said, sighing as he hung up. Making his way to the driver, he put a hand on the old man's shoulder. "Sir."

The man glanced up at him before putting his eyes back on the road. "Yeah?"

"Police are trying to catch up to us, one of them is gonna board the bus. Can you slow this thing down a little?"

At the word 'slow' the man looked at Jake as if he were insane. "What?"

Jake sighed, looking over his shoulder to see the Expedition still behind them. "We can't go down to 50," he said. "But we can slow to 55."

The driver looked afraid, as thoughts ran through his mind. _What if I have to slow down for some reason while I'm at 55? The bus will explode!_

Jake saw his fear. "Look," Jake said, pointing. "The road is straight; no turns. Slow down a little so the guy can board the bus."

The driver still looked afraid. 

Jake took his badge out of his pocket. "I'm a Federal Agent; and so is the man coming aboard. We're gonna figure out a way to get everyone out of here. _Please_, slow down a little!"

The badge did wonders for the man's decision making, and he nodded, easing his foot from the gas pedal.

Jake watched as the Expedition pulled alongside them, and saw the backdoor suddenly open. He grabbed the lever to open the bus doors, and stood in the doorway.

Frank stood on the truck's running board, to the right of the door. He reached his hand into the open window, grabbed the seatbelt strap for leverage, and then pushed the door closed. Still holding onto the seatbelt, he inched closer to the driver's window, transferring his hold to that, as the wind created by their speed made him feel like he was outside in the middle of a tropical storm.

Looking behind himself, he saw Jake standing on the top step in the bus door, gripping the rail while holding out his other hand towards him. 

The officer driving the truck pulled closer to the bus, and Jake was able to grab Frank's arm.

Suddenly, Morgan noticed a pothole in their lane, and they were fast approaching it. "Watch out!" he yelled.

A passenger in the front seat of the bus jumped up and grabbed Jake, just as the Expedition went over the pothole—if the driver swerved to avoid it, Frank would be killed. 

The Expedition, being a high-profile vehicle and going over the pothole at 60, bounced hard, making Frank lose his grip and fall, but Jake was able to grab Frank's arm with both hands and pull, sending the both of them sprawling. 

"Jake…!" Frank gasped, his legs still hanging out the bus door. 

Jake scurried up, and he and the other man pulled Frank up the steps, where Frank was finally able to get a foothold, and help climb the rest of the way.

Once they were inside, the driver closed the door, so neither of them could fall out. 

Breathing heavily, Frank sat back against the wall of the bus. For a second there, he'd thought he was a goner.

"You okay?" he heard Jake ask.

Opening his eyes, Frank nodded at his teammate, ignoring the bruises he knew he'd gotten from falling onto the bus steps. "Yeah. You?"

Jake nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. "Sure, piece of cake." He looked up at the man who'd probably saved both of their lives. "Thanks…uh…"

"Matt," the guy said, with a thin smile. "No problem."

Frank nodded his thanks, as he and Jake got to their feet. Jake sat in the front seat, while Frank faced the terrified passengers. 

Every person stared back with fearful eyes. Frank was relieved to see that no children were on the bus…until he spotted the baby.

He took a deep breath. "My name is Frank Donovan, I'm an agent with the Justice Department," he told them. "I know this will sound like a ridiculous thing to say, under the circumstances, but please try to stay calm, we're going to do our best to get you all out of here—"

Suddenly the bus veered madly to the left, flinging an unsuspecting Frank against the side of the bus. 

The passengers gasped or screamed, holding onto the seats and each other as the bus crossed into the opposite lane. 

Jake looked at the driver, and immediately saw the problem. Jumping out of his seat and quickly making his way over—being sure not to step on Frank along the way—he pulled the obviously unconscious driver out of his seat and took over the driving. Slamming his foot on the gas pedal, he saw that the speed had fallen to 52 mph. He let out a shaky breath as he righted the bus, and threw a worried glance behind him. "Frank! You all right?"

Frank was still lying where he'd landed, knowing it would be stupid to get up until the bus was back under control. He touched the side of his head that had hit…something or other, and winced when he felt blood on his fingers. 

"Frank!" Jake said again.

Suddenly hands were on his arms, and he was being pulled to his feet by Matt and another passenger. 

"I'm fine, Jake," he said, as the men sat him in the front seat.

Jake kept glancing between his boss and the road. "You're bleeding," he said.

"It's nothing, just a scratch." Frank took the handkerchief that Matt handed him, and held it against his temple. "Thanks."

Matt nodded and sat in the front seat in the other aisle, looking worriedly towards the driver, who was slumped on the floor.

Muttering under his breath at having neglected to see what had happened, Frank started to get up.

"Forget it, Frank," said Jake, with a mournful sigh. "He's dead, must've had a heart attack."

Frank closed his eyes, with a defeated sigh. _One passenger dead. Which one will be next?_


	3. Wild Ride

No one spoke, as the passengers stared blankly at the dead bus driver, still in too much shock over the situation to fully comprehend it all.

A voice suddenly broke the silence. "How are you gonna get us off?" 

Frank looked up, to see most of the passengers looking at him. Glancing at the handkerchief he still held to his temple, he was relieved to see only a little blood, and he wiped at the wound again before lowering it. 

"I need to work on a plan, after I find out what we're dealing with," he told them.

"You mean you don't _have_ a plan yet?!" another voice exclaimed. 

Frank felt slightly irked as he tried to figure out who'd spoken. "Have you seen the movie?" he asked.

"_I_ haven't."

Frank looked at the young woman with the baby, as she stared into his eyes, looking very scared.

Frank felt sorry for her. _She must be terrified for her daughter, _he thought, seeing the pink clothes the tiny baby wore. "It had a happy ending," he found himself saying.

"The people got off the bus," someone told her.

She smiled slightly at that. "Then you just follow the movie, right?" she said, a note of hope in her voice.

Frank sighed, deciding to be honest. "I don't think the man responsible will let it be that easy. He wants me to fail."

At that, a man jumped out of his seat. "You mean to tell us someone is doing this to get _revenge_ on you? We're about to die because of YOU?!"

Frank stood when the man took a step towards him, and a few of the other men grabbed the guy before he could go any closer. 

Jake looked over his shoulder, annoyed that he had to stay where he was.

The men got the guy to sit back down, and his glare at Frank turned into a look of sadness, as if he couldn't believe what he had just been about to do. 

"I'm sorry about this," Frank told everyone. "I'm going to get you all out of it."

Suddenly his cell phone rang, and he quickly answered it. "Donovan."

"'Donovan'," Lazarro mocked. "You say that as if you think you're the President or something."

Frank rolled his eyes. "What's the deal, Lazarro?"

"Deal?" Lazarro snared. "There ain't gonna be no deal. Everyone is gonna DIE!" he yelled.

Frank had to fight the urge to punch something. "You _know_ what I mean!"

"Yeah, I do," Lazarro laughed. "The deal is this: there are bombs all over that bus, and I have the capability to set off any one that I choose. Go under 50 and they _all_ go off. How much gas is in that sucker?"

Frank took a deep breath. "Is there anything, _anything_ that will make you end this?"

Lazarro laughed again. "Sure, I can end it all right now with the touch of a button!"

Frank's blood started to boil. "Anything that will make you let these people go!" he clarified, through clenched teeth.

"Humm…humm…" Lazarro pretended to think. "Nah."

"Look," Frank said. "_I'm_ the one you want. If you let these people off the bus, I'll surrender to you."

Lazarro started to laugh. "Yeah right! I let them off, and you surrender. Sounds like a plan, except that either a bunch of cops will accompany you and shoot me full of holes, or _you'll_ jump me and shoot me full of holes. No, no, Frankie boy. The promise of your death will be fulfilled, on that bus when it blows!" 

_*click* _

Frank looked at his phone, in surprise. Lazarro had pretty much told him nothing new. With a sigh, he realized that this was one hostage negotiation he might lose. And not only would he lose the passengers, but Jake and himself too. 

********************

"Michael Lazarro," said Cody, sitting at his computer in the van. "That's what Frank said the name was, right?"

"Yeah," said Monica, watching Alex pace.

"Jake said he'd call back!" Alex exploded.

"Maybe he can't," said Monica, wincing as she realized how that sounded.

Alex dialed Jake's phone, and held her breath as it rang. "Jake! You didn't call back!"

Jake held the phone to his ear with his shoulder, as he drove. "I kinda couldn't, Alex…I'm driving the bus."

"WHAT?!" Alex yelled.

Monica and Cody jumped up, in fear over Alex's reaction to whatever Jake had just told her.

"What?!" Cody asked her.

Alex listened for a minute, before telling them, "Jake's driving the bus, the driver had a heart attack."

"Oh no!" said Monica. 

"Did Frank talk to Lazarro again?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. He didn't get anywhere," Jake told her.

"Is there a camera in the bus?" Alex asked.

"Frank!" Jake called. "We should see if there's a camera in here."

Frank walked over to him and looked around, checking to see if one was in the same place as in the movie. Hearing noise, he looked at the passengers to see some of them looking too.

"If you find one, do _not_ destroy it!" Frank told them. "It'll give Lazarro an excuse to blow this thing."

Jake, seeing that Frank wasn't having luck finding one, said, "There's gotta be one here, otherwise we could get the people off without Lazarro's knowledge."

Frank nodded. "He probably hid it somewhere we'd never find it."

"But it has to be in a place where he could see all of us and the door," Jake reasoned.

"True," said Frank, looking along the ceiling.

"Oh crap!" Jake suddenly yelled, dropping his phone.

Looking at the road, Frank saw that they were approaching a stoplight. It turned yellow before their eyes, and would be red when they reached it.

"Everyone hold on to something!" Frank yelled, grabbing hold of the rail near the door.

Jake cringed as they approached the light. He started beeping the horn, to alert the drivers of the unsuspecting vehicles. 

As they zoomed through the light, cars continued coming through the intersection, expecting the bus to stop. Jake had to swerve around a car that came out of the right side street, and almost hit a car coming from the left. 

The people in the bus screamed madly, sure they were about to die: if Jake didn't hit someone, it would be a miracle. 

Jake was close to panic, positive there would be an accident, one which would end all their lives, as the bombs would explode from the impact. He swerved around a minivan, and suddenly there was clear road ahead of him. 

He got the bus back under control and looked in the rearview mirror, expecting to see a pileup behind them. He couldn't tell if there was one or not, as he looked back to the road.

"Did I cause an accident?!" he shouted.

Frank was holding on for dear life to the front seat of the bus, having been thrown there thanks to the wild ride. He stood up, and made his way to the back of the bus, looking out the back window. 

With a sigh of relief, he turned around and walked towards Jake. "Anyone hurt?" he asked, along the way.

Everyone shook their heads or said no. Many of the people looked panic-stricken. 

Frank stopped next to the girl with the baby, who was clutching her crying daughter in a death grip. "You two all right?"

She looked up at him, shaking. "Y-yes."

Frank touched her arm, in sympathy, and made his way to Jake. 

"Well?" Jake asked, sounding like a nervous wreck.

"No accident, Jake," Frank said. He looked at his subordinate closely; he'd never seen Jake look so scared. "You okay?"

Jake nodded, too vigorously. "Yeah."


	4. Coochie Coochie Coo!

"Jake!" Alex kept repeating into her cell phone, after the screams from the passengers died down. "Answer me, Jake!" She could hear Frank and Jake talking, and knew that they were alive, but she wanted to know what the heck had happened. 

"Alex?" she suddenly heard.

"What happened!" she asked, pacing, as Cody and Monica looked on.

Jake told her about the stoplight, and Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This is unbelievable," she said. 

"I second that," said Jake, as the phone started to slide off his shoulder. "I should get off, Alex, I can't hold the phone and drive this thing at the same time."

Alex felt tears well up in her eyes, afraid that this would be her last conversation with him. "Okay," she said, her voice trembling.

"Don't cry, Alex," Jake said. "Come on, Frank is capable of handling the situation, and I'm a good driver."

Alex laughed, shortly. "Yeah, that explains your speeding tickets."

Jake laughed back. "After this, I will _never_ drive too fast as long as I live. See you later."

_I hope so…_ "Bye," Alex said, almost a whisper. She hit the button and dropped into a seat, trying to control her emotions, something she wasn't very good at. 

Cody looked at the two distraught women, trying to think of a way to lighten the mood. "How do you gals like my car?" he asked.

"It's cool," said Monica.

"Yeah," said Alex.

Cody didn't expect enthusiasm, with the current situation. "Sab picked out the color," he said.

_That_ statement got a reaction. "You let your girlfriend pick the color of your new car?" said Monica.

"Yeah," Cody nodded. "We met at a car dealership, both of us looking for a new vehicle, so I figured I'd have her help me pick one. I love the color!

Alex smiled slightly. It was sweet seeing shy, computer-nerd Cody with a girlfriend. 

********************

"Shut her up!"

Frank turned, looking towards the back of the bus, where someone had just yelled at the young woman. Her baby was crying, seemingly uncontrollably.

The poor girl had tears running down her own face as she bounced the baby around. "Shhh!" she kept saying. 

Frank walked toward the men. "Leave her alone!" he demanded, trying to figure out who'd spoken. 

"We're all gonna _die_!" one of them said. It was the man who'd complained. "And in the meantime we have to be driven crazy by _that_?!"

Frank directed an icy stare at the man, and pointed a finger in his face. "If I hear _one_ _more_ word out of you, you'll wish this thing _would_ blow!"

Jake's jaw dropped, at hearing Frank's words. He looked in the rearview mirror, trying to watch and drive at the same time. 

The woman started crying harder. "Shush, Lily! Please!"

Jake almost did a double take at when he saw next. 

Frank went over to an older woman, who was watching the girl compassionately. He gestured her to the young mother, and then took the baby into his arms. 

The old woman slid into the seat next to the girl and put an arm around her, letting her cry on her shoulder. 

Jake couldn't resist turning around to see Frank holding the infant. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. 

Frank held the baby tightly, vertically against his chest; its little head sideways against his shoulder. "Shh," he said, bouncing it gently. "You need to be quiet for your Mommy."

Jake itched to pick up his phone and tell the team what he was witnessing. It was a soft side of Frank he was amazed to see. 

Frank looked back at Lily's mother, who he could see was calming, just as her daughter was. 

The young mother looked at Frank, smiling slightly. "Thank you," she said.

Frank smiled. "I think babies can sense when the person holding it is upset. She couldn't be consoled when you were distressed yourself."

The girl nodded, wiping her eyes, her head still leaning on the old woman's shoulder.

Frank pulled the baby back, looking at its still-wet face. He smiled at Lily's big blue eyes, as the baby stared at him, fascinated at the new face above it. 

Suddenly the sweet moment was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. Frank shifted the baby to one arm as he answered it.

"Guess who?" Lazarro said. 

"I can't imagine," Frank snapped, as he handed the baby to the old woman, who gave it back to its mother.

"Ha ha, very funny!" said the criminal. 

"Let me guess," said Frank, before Lazarro could continue his nonsense. "There's a camera in here, right? So you can see everything that goes on?"

The man laughed. "No, Frankie boy, this ain't the movie. No camera; I don't need one."

Frank put his hand against the wall of the bus, steadying himself when they went over a bump in the road. "Then what's to stop me from getting these people off the bus?" 

The man didn't answer, and Frank thought for a minute that he'd stumped the guy, but suddenly he felt like electricity went through his body and he gasped, pulling his hand away from the wall. 

Jake glanced behind himself when he heard assorted gasps and mutters. "What?" he asked.

Frank heard a laugh over the phone. "I think you'd better tell everyone not to touch any metal in that there bus, Frankie."

Frank exhaled slowly. "And why is that?" he asked, as if it weren't obvious.

"Because you are now riding a live wire!"

A shiver of dread shot down Frank's spine. "People!" he said, looking around the bus. "The bus is electrified! Do _not_ touch any metal!" Frank looked at the ground. "What about the floor?"

"Aha! Smart guy, aren't you, Frankie boy?"

Frank sighed inwardly, wishing Lazarro would stop calling him that. 

"Perfectly safe. I did that just for _you_," said the madman. "I gotta keep _you_ alive, now, don't I? What good would it do me if you died before getting to see your failure, in not being able to keep the passengers alive, humm?"

Frank nearly snapped when he heard that. Stopping himself a split second before he pounded his fist into the wall, he said, "When we get out of this, I'm going to hunt you _down_—"

_*click*_

Frank angrily dropped his cell phone, having nearly thrown it, but realizing that he needed it to communicate with Lazarro. 

Jake turned around to look at him, as Frank plopped down into the bus' first seat. He looked very defeated. 

Jake sighed, as he looked back to the road. He'd jumped back onto the highway—one with low amounts of traffic—to avoid having to speed through red lights again. Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw that his boss had his 'thinking look' on. Jake hoped that Frank would be able to come up with a plan fast, because right now, he saw no way out of this deadly situation.


	5. Superman to the Rescue!

_*ring*_

"Yello," said Cody. "The color of my new car!"     

"Cody."

"Boss!" Cody sat up straighter. "How's things over there?"

Frank sighed. "Not good. Lazarro rigged this thing with electricity."

Cody's jaw dropped. "No way!"

Alex and Monica watched him, wishing they could hear what Frank was saying.

"How many volts?" Cody asked.

Frank sighed. "I have no idea. According to Lazarro, a lot. Some of us got a shock when he turned it on." He took a deep breath. "What do you think, Cody? Is there any way to disarm the electricity?"

Cody shrugged. "I dunno, boss. Do you hear a hum?"

Frank frowned. "Hum?"

"Electricity as strong as he's saying, wired all over the bus, would produce a hum."

Frank put his ear as close to the wall as he dared. "I hear nothing."

"Did your hair stand up?" Cody asked, sounding like he was laughing at the possible sight.

Frank reached a hand to his head. "No."

"Okaaay. Put your hand close to it, and tell me if you feel your skin tingle."

Frank obeyed. "Nothing."

"Humm," said Cody. "Maybe…"

"I agree, and there's only one way to find out," Frank said.

Realizing what he meant, Cody yelled, "What?! No, Frank!"

Frank put the phone in his pocket, and grabbed the bus doors. Immediately, electricity zapped through him, making his whole body tremble, as he yanked the doors open.

"Frank!" Jake yelled, reaching over and grabbing him by the shirt, hearing the bus' passengers scream, in shock at the sight, as he pulled Frank back before he could get 'stuck' to the doors by the electrical current.

Frank's legs collapsed beneath him, unable to hold him up. He fell against Jake, sliding to the floor and landing on his rear. 

"Frank!" Jake held onto his boss' shoulder, feeling Frank's body shaking violently. 

Frank couldn't speak. He felt like he was in the middle of an earthquake, and his body hurt and tingled madly, while breathing was difficult. The same passengers who had helped him earlier were suddenly there, holding him by the arms.

"He's alive!" Matt told Jake. 

Jake sighed heavily. "Frank! You are _insane_!"

Frank heard Jake's voice, but it sounded as if he were in a tunnel and he was still incapable of answering. _I'm still alive! Lazarro lied about the voltage._ He closed his eyes, trying to take a deep breath and calm his racing heart, influenced by the electricity, no doubt. 

"Oh no…" 

At the dreaded sound to the passenger's voice, Jake looked down at Frank, to see his eyes closed. 

"Frank! No! Open your eyes!" he reached for Frank's wrist to feel his pulse, and found it extremely erratic. 

"Lie him down!" Jake said, when Frank's eyes didn't open.

The men obeyed. 

Jake glanced toward the bus doors, to see them wide open. Hope flashed through him, when he realized that they were going to get out of this.

But had Frank given his life to save them? 

"We can get off!" someone yelled, sounding hysterical. 

"Wait!" yelled Jake, feeling a flash of anger at the person's seeming disregard for Frank's life. "If you jump you'll be killed. Didn't you see the freakin' movie? Now we have to wait till the cops come alongside the bus!"

"The cops can't do that if Frank can't tell them on his cell phone that the doors are open!" one of the men crouching near Frank said. 

Jake rolled his eyes. Taking his own phone out of his pocket, he dialed the Chicago PD number. "Hello? This is Jake Shaw; I'm on the bus…" he paused. "_Please hold?_ Are you outta your mind! Tell Morgan that the bus doors are open, and we're waiting for them to get us _off_ this thing!" He hit the hang up button, and slammed the phone on the dashboard, running a hand through his hair. "Please hold!" he muttered. The stress of the situation finally got to poor Jake, and he started laughing. He stopped quickly when he remembered Frank lying unconscious on the floor. 

"Check his pulse!" Jake yelled over his shoulder. "Is it still messed up?"

"Yeah."

Jake sighed. "Keep an eye on him."

Suddenly the police Expedition that had been driving a ways behind them pulled up on the side, and Chief Morgan hung out the back-seat window. "How the—where's Frank?!"

"He knocked himself out when he opened the doors with his bare hands!" Jake yelled. 

Morgan shook his head, in shock. "We have a truck on the way, to get you all off."

Jake nodded. "Try to make it quick, huh?"

Morgan nodded back, and the Expedition slowed down, getting behind the bus again.

Suddenly Jake's phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Jake!" yelled Alex. "Is Frank all right? He won't answer Cody!"

Jake sighed. "He opened the bus doors and knocked himself out, Alex." 

"What an idiot!"

Jake laughed. "Yeah."

"So the doors are open?"

"Yup. A truck is on the way to get everyone off."

Alex sighed in utter relief. "Thank God." 

"You can say _that_ again. I'll call you when the truck gets here."

"Okay, be careful."

"Naturally." Jake hung up, and turned around when he heard Frank groan. "Frank! Are you all right?"

Frank opened his eyes, seeing nothing but a blur. He blinked repeatedly, and his vision cleared slowly. He was still shaking, and for a second didn't remember what had happened.

"Don't let him move!" he heard Jake's voice say. "Check his pulse!"

Frank suddenly remembered what had occurred, and tried to sit up. His muscles felt like jelly and were spasming intermittently, and he was grateful for the hands holding onto him when his arms refused to hold him up. He heard one of the men say something to Jake, but didn't catch the words. Suddenly a hand was pressing against his chest, and he saw that it belonged to Jake, who was just close enough to reach him. 

"Frank, _please_, stay put." Jake looked at Frank, and then back to the road. "Listen, a truck is on the way to get everyone off. There's nothing more for you to do, so stay there."

"I-I'm f-fine, Jake," Frank said, frowning at the stutter, his voice sounding shaky. "Did he call back?" he asked, slowly. 

"No."

Frank frowned. "How long was I out?"

Jake shook his head. "Fifteen, twenty." Jake gave a short laugh. "This really _isn't_ your day."

Frank didn't answer, trying to reach into his pocket to get his cell phone, not remembering if he'd hung up after talking to Cody. His hands refused to obey him, and he made a sound of exasperation. 

Matt saw his difficulty, and took the phone out for him. "The line was still open," he said, hitting the hang up button. Almost immediately, it rang. 

"That's him," Frank said. "Hit the button."

Matt did as he was told, and held the phone to Frank's ear.

"Donovan," he said.

"You sure like to gab," said Lazarro. "Been trying to call for a long time."

"I have a job to do," said Frank.

"Yeah, guess you do, huh? Any luck?"

_More then you know. _"How? We're riding in an electrified bus, remember?" Suddenly Frank gasped when pain shot through every inch of his body. 

Jake heard and turned around to see Frank's eyes closed tightly. He didn't say anything, knowing that Lazarro couldn't be allowed to know that Frank had opened the door. 

"What's the matter, Frankie? The bus go over a bump in the road at 60mph?" the psycho laughed.

"S-something like that," Frank managed to say, exhaling shakily. 

"Gee, you don't sound too good," Lazarro laughed. "The stress getting to you?" 

Frank didn't answer. 

"Hehe, don't care to admit to it, huh? Allrighty then, I'll call you back in a little while to see if you're pulling your hair out yet!" 

_*click*_

Frank sighed, reaching up a shaky hand to take his phone back. This time his limb obeyed him, however sluggishly, and he took it, fumbling to hang it up. "Thanks."

"No problem," Matt said. 

"How you feel, Frank?" Jake asked, worriedly. 

"Fine. Help me up," he asked the men.

"No!" Jake told them. "Don't listen to him."

"_Jaaake_," Frank said in exasperation, when his subordinate grabbed his arm, to feel his pulse again.

"You heart went haywire!" Jake practically shouted. "Your stupid move got the doors open, yeah, but you almost killed yourself!"

Frank just stared at him. _Stupid move? _

Jake calmed down a little when he saw that Frank's pulse was better. His cell phone rang, and he let go of Frank's wrist, grabbing the phone from the dashboard. "Yeah."

"What's going on, Jake? How's Frank?"

"He's awake, Alex."

"Thank God! Is the truck there yet?"

"No." Hearing a commotion behind him, he turned to see Frank trying to get up, and the two men having no choice but to help him. "Gotta go, Frank's trying to be Superman again." He hung up the phone and threw it back onto the dashboard. Glancing behind himself again, he saw Frank slumped back on the seat. 

"You may be my boss," said Jake. "But I gotta say that you are one thickheaded person."

Frank gave him a mock-glare. "That's what people tell me."

Jake couldn't help but smile at that one. 


	6. Yay and Uh Oh!

"There's the truck!" a passenger yelled. 

Looking in the rearview mirror, Jake saw a bus fast approaching. He shook his head, thinking to himself that a bus had too narrow a doorway for a person to safely get through, while driving at the speed the vehicles were moving at. He slowed down a little, impatient for the bus to catch up, and when it did and pulled alongside them, he saw that it was a wheelchair accessible bus, and so had a very wide door. 

Frank watched as the door opened, and the wheelchair platform lowered to the same level as the door of their bus. "Jake, drive perfectly straight!" he said.

"Right," Jake answered, sarcastically, as the handicap bus moved closer. 

When the platform was as close to the bus as it could get, Frank said, "Okay, one person at a time, everyone _slowly_ line up, and remember not to touch the bus wall!"

The people all but erupted out of their seats, hurriedly doing as Frank said. 

A bunch of cops were standing on the platform, reaching their arms out to help the first person onto the ramp. One by one, each passenger left the bus slowly, fearfully. 

The young woman with the baby stopped when it was her turn, and gave Frank a thankful smile. "This was her first bus ride," she said, wistfully.

Frank felt a sense of déjà vu when she said that. Smiling back, he stuck a finger into the baby's tiny fist. "I'm sure she won't remember it."

_Wow_, thought Jake, watching. _Frank really does have a soft side!_

"Hurry up!" someone yelled, from the back of the line.

The girl smiled again, before heading towards the platform, handing the baby to one of the officers, before being helped onto the ramp.

Finally, every passenger was safely off the bus, to Frank's immense relief. The only one still remaining was the dead body of the unfortunate bus driver, which two officers carried off.

"Jake."

Jake turned to see Frank take a step towards him. He could see that his boss was still having trouble with his muscles, as he grabbed onto the back of Jake's seat to remain standing. 

"Your turn," Frank told him.

"What?!" Jake exclaimed. "You think I'm gonna leave you on this thing?"

"You think _I'm_ gonna leave _you_ on this thing?" Frank shot back.

"I _have_ to stay, and ditch this stupid bus," Jake said. "You're hardly capable of _moving_!"

Frank sighed. "Jake, that lunatic did this because he wanted to see me fail. I will _not_ leave you on this bus, and let the one person I _need_ to keep alive possibly die!"

Jake just looked at him, before looking back to the road. Frank wasn't one to often admit his feelings. "Frank," he said. "Think about it; you've been hurt, I'm not. It's good to know that you would never let me die," he said, with a laugh. "But I'm the only one of us really capable of doing this."

"Jake," Frank said. "Get off the bus."

"I'll stay with you! We'll both ditch it."

Frank sighed. "We don't have time to argue! Get _off_ the bus, make them pull over, get in Morgan's truck and follow."

Jake knew that he could be setting himself up for trouble if he continued to go against Frank's orders, so he reluctantly gave in. "Fine. But if you die, then _I'm_ the one who failed."

Frank's face softened, knowing how Jake felt. "I won't die, Jake." 

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "You _did_ just survive being electrocuted."

Frank smiled at that one, and winced. "Don't remind me." He moved forward and grabbed the steering wheel, and Jake ducked under Frank's arms, not letting go of the gas pedal until Frank was seated and took it over. 

"Morgan and I will be following," said Jake. "Be careful."

Frank looked at him, and nodded.

Jake sighed, and left the bus, stepping onto the platform of the other. 

Frank kept his eyes on the road, in immense relief that he had succeeded in saving everyone, after all. _Now, the only person left to save is myself!_

Suddenly another jolt of pain shot through him, taking him by surprise and almost making him lose control of the bus. He felt his heart palpitating, and wondered if the electrical shock had done it damage. _That's all I need! _he thought. His career would be over, if that was so. 

With a sigh, he continued to drive, seeing the Expedition behind him catching up again, after having stopped to let Jake on board. 

Frank looked at the fuel gauge to see that the bus wasn't in danger of running out of gas, thankfully; the situation having not gone on as long as it could have. 

"Where do I ditch this thing…" he wondered aloud. He realized that he wasn't far from Lake Michigan port, which would be the perfect place to take the bus—into the water, away from people.

His cell phone rang, and he fumbled for it, his hands still tingling madly. "Yeah, Jake," he said, seeing his number on the caller ID.

"Where you going?" Jake asked.

"Lake Michigan," Frank said. 

"Good idea," said Jake. "If the bombs go off, it'll happen under water."

"Right," said Frank. "Let me off, Jake, in case Lazarro calls back."

"Okay. Be careful," Jake said.

"Always," Frank replied. He heard Jake mutter, 'not' as he hung up his phone, which rang again a mere minute later. "Donovan."

"I'll bet you're all really scared by now!" Lazarro said. "Sounds pretty quiet in there. What's everyone doing?"

Frank realized that that was a good question. There should be _some_ noise in the background. "Having their last meal," Frank said.

"Ha ha, very funny. So where's the bus heading, anyway?"

"Down Rt. 88," lied Frank, nonchalantly. "We're taking the scenic route."

"The scenic route!" laughed Lazarro. "It's a beautiful fall day! You know something, Frankie?"

Frank sighed. "What?"

"I'm getting bored waiting for that thing to run out of gas, or for someone to get fried, or for an accident to occur and make the bus explode," he said. "I think I'll set one of the bombs off early, to add some fun to this otherwise dreary waiting."

Frank tried to calm the increased racing of his heart that Lazarro's statement instigated. "I wouldn't advise that," he said.

"Oh? Why not?" Lazarro said, as if he was seriously considering Frank's argument.

"So far, you haven't killed anyone," Frank said, leaving out mention of the dead bus driver. "Think about it. When I get these people off alive, you won't be facing any murder charges. You set off a bomb now, and someone _will_ die. Then, you'll go to prison for first degree murder."

"Convincing argument," the guy said. "But not convincing enough."

Frank's blood ran cold, as he tried to drive the bus with still-tingling hands and weak arms, while his neck started to ache from holding the phone to his ear with it. 

"Tell the people on the bus that in 10 minutes, they're gonna have a _big_ surprise!" Lazarro said, and hung up the phone.

Frank disconnected his, and sat it on the dashboard, trying to still the trembling in his body. _From the electrical shock_, he told himself. Picking up his phone again, he dialed Jake.

"Yeah Frank?"

"If I haven't made it to Lake Michigan in 8 minutes," Frank said. "I want your truck turned around."

"What? What's going on?"

Frank gave an exasperated sigh. "Lazarro just informed me that in 10 minutes he's going to set off one of the bombs."

Jake was speechless. "I dunno if you'll make it there in time," he said. 

Frank doubted that he would. "I agree."


	7. Bye Bye, Bus!

LOL Nicky, your reviews are so funny. Email me, will ya? My address is deanalisi@hotmail.com. That goes for anyone else who wants to email me too! :)

"You're gonna jump, right?" Jake asked Frank over the cell phone. "Whether you make it to the Lake or not?"

Frank laughed, mirthlessly. "I don't want to die, Jake, but I _did_ want to leave this thing in a secluded area."

"Yeah," Jake said. 

Neither of them said anything for a minute.

"I'd better go, in case Lazarro calls back again," said Frank.

"Okay. Call back in a few minutes, and tell me your plan," Jake said.

"I will," Frank said, and hung up. 

At minute 6, Frank was about to call Jake and tell him there was no way he'd reach the Lake in time, but his phone rang before he had the chance.

"Hey Frankie."

"What do you want now?" Frank replied. 

"I changed my mind," Lazarro told him. "Giving the people a time limit lets them know what to expect. Tell them the bomb will blow anytime between now and an hour!" he started to laugh. "I could do it this instant, or not for 45 minutes! That'll drive them crazy, wouldn't you think, Frankie boy?"

_It could buy me time to get to Lake Michigan, _Frank thought. "Yeah, crazy." _Just like you._

"Wow, me and Frank Donovan agree on something!" Lazarro laughed, and hung up. 

The phone rang again before Frank had a chance to put it down, and Jake's voice said, "Frank! It's been 8 minutes!"

"He changed his mind," Frank told him. "We may have an hour."

Jake didn't bother asking questions. "You could reach the Lake in less then 10 minutes!" he said.

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "Listen, Jake, if this bus suddenly swerves for no reason, it's a signal for you to stop following immediately," he told him, knowing that if he was talking with Lazarro and found out a bomb is about to go off, that would be the only way to notify Jake fast enough. "In fact, it's a signal for you to do a 180 and floor it," he clarified.

Jake hesitated for a minute. "Okay," he said, reluctantly. 

Frank hung up and put the phone on the dashboard. Making himself breathe slowly and evenly, he was glad to see that his heart wasn't going spastic anymore. Quickly looking at his watch, he saw that the situation had been going on for only 4 hours. It seemed like all day, to Frank, who couldn't wait to get off the bus, go home, and go to bed. With a groan, he realized that the first place he'd be destined for after getting off the bus would most likely be the hospital. 

A few more minutes passed, with no callback from the criminal. Frank was getting more nervous as he got closer to the Lake, and he tried to calm himself; his still-recovering heart seemed to use anything as an excuse to let it's rate jump dramatically. 

Suddenly, Frank could see the Lake. He picked up the phone to call Jake, but it rang before he had a chance to dial.

"Frank! The Lake!"

"I know. Stop where you are. After I'm off I'll call you to come get me."

"But Frank…"

"Jake, this thing could blow any second, according to him! I'll be off in a minute. Stop here!" Frank told him.

In the rearview mirror, Frank saw the Expedition pull to the side of the road.

"We stopped, Frank," Jake said, unnecessarily. 

"Good. Wait till I call you, or until you know for sure that the bus is in the water," Frank said, realizing that he could knock himself out from the jump, and not be able to call Jake at all. 

He hung up, and stood, getting ready to let go of the steering wheel. He had to jump at the last second; for when he let go of the gas pedal the bus would quickly slow down to less then 50, and would explode before going into the water, catching him in the blast.

Suddenly the bus rocked with a huge explosion, and the whole thing bucked, making his foot slip from the gas pedal momentarily. Frank grabbed for his cell phone, which fell off the dashboard. His life was more important then a stupid phone, but he needed it in order to communicate with Jake, and Lazarro, who would eventually figure out he'd failed in his ploy and would flee. Frank's nervousness mounted when he saw how close he was to the Lake, and he grabbed the phone and stumbled to the door, feeling the bus slow down with the absence of weight on the accelerator. 

Not bothering to try to jump 'correctly', as the bus' height was probably too high to avoid injury at that speed anyway, he dove out the door, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few times. 

The bus careened off the road and fell towards the water, almost as if in slow motion. Frank was shocked to see that the explosion of a minute ago had blown out the back wall of the bus. 

A fireball suddenly exploded before his eyes and he instinctively closed them as the entire bus finally blew up. He heard a tremendous splash, and opened his eyes again to see smoke rising from the rapidly sinking vehicle.

His cell phone suddenly rang, and Frank hazily saw it lying a few feet away. He reached out his left arm towards it, wincing in pain when his whole body protested the movement. He couldn't reach it, and had to drag himself closer, with a groan.

"Jake?" he gasped, the breath having been knocked out of him.

"Frank! Thank God! Are you all right?" Jake asked, sounding frantic.

Frank didn't answer at first, trying to get his breath back. 

Jake could hear it, and said, "Nevermind, don't answer, we're almost there."

Frank dazedly nodded, as if Jake could see him, and plopped his head back down to the hard earth, his senses swimming. His whole body hurt, and he could feel his heart start a spastic dance again, pounding against the ground…


	8. There's Only One Word for this Chapter: ...

Frank lay there in a daze, not even hearing the police Expedition pull up. Suddenly someone was touching him, and he realized his name was being called.

"Frank!" said Jake, trying to decide if it was safe to turn him over onto his back. "Where are you hurt? Anything broken?" 

Frank thought for a minute. He was in pain, but it didn't feel like anything was fractured. "I don't think so," he answered. 

"Okay, I'm gonna turn you over," Jake warned him. Frank didn't answer, so Jake gently slid his hands under Frank's arms. He'd only just started to move him when Frank suddenly gasped.

"What?" Jake said, quickly letting go.

"Shoulder…" Frank whispered, as massive pain shot through it. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly when Jake touched it.

"Dislocated," Jake said, wincing in sympathy.

Frank said nothing, but almost jumped when he heard Chief Morgan's voice, who he hadn't realized was there.

"What's the ETA on that ambulance?" he was saying, into his cell phone. "What! Tell them to hurry!"

Frank opened his eyes when he heard Morgan snap his phone closed. 

"Frank," said Morgan, as he knelt beside him. "You're probably gonna hate me for this, but we gotta pop your arm back."

"Shouldn't we let the medics do that?" Jake asked, sounding nervous at the idea.

Morgan shook his head. "ETA is 10 minutes. My brother-in-law dislocated his shoulder last year, and by the time we got him to the hospital there was so much swelling that he needed surgery to put it back. I'm sure you don't want that, Frank."

Frank closed his eyes with a sigh. He was by no means a stranger to pain, but he knew that this would probably be right up there next to the pain of a bullet. 

"Turn him towards you," Jake said to Morgan, not wanting Frank's body weight on his injured shoulder.

The Chief nodded and did as Jake said. 

Frank forced himself to not make a sound as they moved him, despite the pain he now felt in his ribs. _One thing at a time…_

"You sure you know how to do this?" he heard Jake ask.

Morgan shot him a sheepish look. "I saw it done on TV…"

"What?" Frank gasped, wanting to get as far away from him as possible, now.

Morgan laughed. "I saw it on 'Trauma Team', not some fake TV show. After what happened to my brother I made it a point to try to learn these things. It's good for cops to know this stuff, you know." He shook his head. "I never figured I'd have to use my newly acquired knowledge on _you_ though, but the way _your_ luck is, I should've figured!"

Frank's only answer for that was a groan.

Morgan made a face; aware he'd talked too much. "Come're, Jake."

Jake scurried over to Morgan's side. 

"Pick up his arm, and hold it straight," Morgan told him.

Jake looked at Frank as if asking for his permission, not wanting to hurt him. 

Frank nodded at him. "Do what the 'doctor' says, Jake."

Jake nodded, and did as Morgan told him, wincing inwardly at Frank's gasp.

Morgan placed his hand on Frank's shoulder, feeling to make sure there were no broken bones before he did this. "There's no reason to be macho, Frank," he said when he saw Frank bite his lip to avoid making a sound. "Ready?" he asked.

Frank was tempted to shake his head, but he forced himself to nod. 

Suddenly a *pop* was heard, and blinding pain shot through his shoulder, spreading into his collarbone and down his arm. He cried out at the pain, not able to prevent himself. 

Morgan and Jake winced, trading sympathetic looks, knowing that it took a lot for Frank to voice pain. 

Morgan carefully took Frank's arm from Jake, and gently laid it next to his body.

"Frank?" Jake said. 

Frank said nothing, breathing heavily, eyes still squeezed tightly shut. 

Jake suddenly remembered Frank's earlier irregular heartbeat, and checked his pulse. It was beating very fast, and Jake hoped it was in response to his injuries, and not damage from the electric shock. 

As they waited for Frank to compose himself, Morgan saw Frank's phone on the ground and picked it up. The line was still open from when Frank had been talking to Jake, and he hung it up.

A few seconds later, it rang. 

Jake grabbed it. "Frank, it's him!"

Frank opened his eyes, having forgotten all about Lazarro. He cleared his throat, hoping he'd be able to speak normally, after what he'd just gone through. He shakily tried to push himself up on one elbow, and Jake helped him sit up, and held him there.

"Donovan," he said into the phone, which Jake held for him. His voice came out steadier then he actually felt.

"Who do you keep calling, your mother?" said Lazarro. "How'd the people on the bus like my surprise?"

"They loved it," Frank said, sarcastically.

"How many did it kill?" he asked, a note of glee in his voice.

"None," Frank answered, smugly. 

Lazarro paused. "None? No one? You're lying!"

"No I'm not," Frank said. "Everyone is still alive."

Suddenly Morgan's phone rang, and he jumped up and walked a distance away before answering it.

"You might as well give up," Frank told Lazarro. "You aren't gonna succeed."

"Wanna bet?"

"You'll see," Frank said, smugly. He nodded at Jake, to hang up. 

"Frank!" Morgan came running back. "The showed Lazarro's picture on the news, and a woman recognized it as her next-door neighbor! He has a mustache and fake name, but she's sure it's the same guy."

_That_ was music to Frank's ears. "Did you send officers there?"

Morgan nodded. 

"Good…" Frank said, closing his eyes when he suddenly felt dizzy. 

"Frank?" said Jake. 

His voice sounded far away to Frank, who didn't answer, nor did he feel Jake jostle him to make him open his eyes. All he saw was comforting, painless darkness.

Jake made a sound of displeasure when it became obvious that Frank had passed out, and he gently laid him down again. "Is it me, or should Frank have not passed out from a mere dislocated shoulder?"

Morgan shook his head. "He might have other injuries, or might be going into shock from the dislocation…"

"His heart!" Jake said, quickly checking Frank's pulse. It was still beating fast. "Where's the freakin' ambulance? It's been more then 10 minutes!"

As Morgan picked up his cell phone to find out where it was, they suddenly heard the wail of the rescue vehicle. It pulled up a minute later, and the medics quickly jumped out.

After finding out what had happened, they quickly hooked Frank up to an EKG, safely secured his injured arm to his body, and loaded the stretcher into the ambulance. 

"You can't let word get out that the bus is in the water," said Jake, as he got into the rescue vehicle. "If Lazarro finds out before the cops pick him up…"

Morgan nodded. "I know, don't worry. Tell Frank I'll come see him later."

Jake nodded. "I will," he said, closing the door. 

Morgan watched as it sped away, before running to his Expedition and taking off.


	9. The Badguy gets Caught! Yay!

_*woo woo woo woo*_

Frank awoke to a wailing siren. Startling slightly, his eyes flew open, and were greeted by the sight of Jake's face over him. 

"Frank!" Jake exclaimed, obviously surprised to see him awake. "Don't move, we're almost there."

Frank sighed. _Figures I'd wake up just in time to enter the ER,_ he thought. The pain he felt was clouding his mind, and he had to think for a minute to remember what had happened. 

"Lazarro?" he asked.

"The cops are on their way to grab him," Jake told him. "He doesn't know the jig is up."

"Good," Frank said. Suddenly he flinched.

Jake looked up in alarm when the heart monitor started beeping erratically. Before he had the chance to alert the EMT, he was pushed to the side by the medic as he tried to see what was amiss with his patient. 

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, not liking the look on the medic's face. The man didn't answer right away, as he reached for a cabinet and began taking stuff out. 

Jake looked at Frank to see his eyes closed tightly. He didn't have to look at the heart monitor to know that Frank's heartbeat was all over the place.

He opened his mouth to ask the medic again, scared at the implications of his silence. 

"It looks like the shock caused an arrhythmia," the medic finally said, injecting something into the IV in Frank's left hand. 

"How bad?" Jake asked, nervously.

The medic shook his head. "I can't be sure, only a cardiologist can answer that."

Jake sighed and looked back at Frank, whose face relaxed a minute later, in response to what had obviously been a sedative. 

They pulled up to the hospital a minute later, taking the stretcher out of the ambulance and quickly bringing it inside. 

As expected, Jake was told to stay in the waiting room, and before he even had a chance to walk in, he was smothered by a hug.

"Jake! Thank God!" it was Alex. There were tears in her voice, and Jake hugged her tightly, smiling at Monica and Cody over her shoulder. 

"Yeah," he sighed. "Thank God for my life, but now we gotta ask Him for Frank's."

********************

"This is the police! Come out with your hands up!"

Michael Lazarro jumped to his feet, in complete shock at being found. He grabbed his gun and started running upstairs, as he dialed Frank's cell phone. Fully prepared to inform him he was about to blow the whole bus, he was surprised when Frank didn't answer. _Did it blow already? _He reached his attic, and opened a trap door he'd built in the roof. _More likely, he got everyone off the bus! _He growled, at he thought of Frank succeeding once again.

Now on the roof of the house, he peered over the edge to see a swarm of police cars at the curb, and cops filling the yard. Quickly going to the side of the roof, he ran, and made a flying leap onto the roof of the next house; belonging to the neighbor who'd turned him in. He suddenly heard yelling, and realized that he'd been spotted.

Quickly turning around, he ran back in the direction of his own house, knowing that the cops were chasing in the other direction. 

"STOP, LAZARRO!"

He skidded to a halt just before jumping to the house on the other side, as he spotted Chief Morgan standing just under him, gun aimed. 

Lazarro knew that if he raised his gun, he'd be dead before he got it halfway up, so instead, he raised what was in his other hand. "You better watch it, cop! I can blow it right now!"

Morgan stood his ground, knowing that the bus situation was already resolved. However, many of the officers now surrounding the house didn't know that Lazarro was unaware of that fact, and backed up, fearfully, thinking he was threatening to blow up the house. 

 "Go ahead!" Morgan yelled. "Push the button! The people are already off the bus, and it's sitting at the bottom of Lake Michigan!"

"Liar!" Lazarro yelled. "You're bluffing! For all I know, it might've already blown up! Why's Donovan not answering his phone, humm? Can it be because he blew up with it?!" 

Morgan had to make up something fast, not wanting to give Lazarro the pleasure of knowing that Frank was in the hospital. "_He_ got off the bus, his phone didn't!" he said.

Lazarro didn't know what to do. "NO!" he yelled, refusing to admit defeat. "NO! It's a lie! I'm gonna blow the thing right now! Goodbye, Frank Donovan!" With that, he pushed the button.

Suddenly one of the officers fired his gun, the bullet sailing past Lazarro's ear. It took him by surprise, and he lost his balance, falling off the unfortunately not very high roof. 

Lazarro landed on the ground with a thud, and quickly found handcuffs attached to his wrists.

"_You_ are under arrest!" Morgan informed him, gleefully.


	10. The End? NOT! lol

Frank was subjected to many tests for the next couple of hours, and the team anxiously awaited the results as they sat in his room in the cardiac ICU, where Frank still slept off the sedative. 

Frank awoke to the sound of voices, and when he opened his eyes he was greeted with four very happy, smiling faces. 

"Hey," said Alex. "How do you feel?"

Frank blinked a few times, not completely awake. "Sore," he said.

"You really had a number done on you _this_ time, boss," said Cody. 

"Aside from your dislocated shoulder," said Monica. "You have some bruised ribs."

Frank sighed, irked to hear that. Saying nothing, he looked up at the heart monitor, which seemed to be beeping at a fast—but regular—rhythm. 

"They put you through a bunch of tests," said Jake. "We haven't heard anything yet."

Frank sighed again, remaining quiet.

"They caught Lazarro," Jake told him.

Frank's eyebrows shot up. "They did?"

Everyone nodded. "They nabbed him on his roof," said Alex. "A cop shot at him and he fell off, but somehow didn't get hurt. Figures, huh?"

  
Frank nodded. "Did he injure any officers during his capture?"

Jake shook his head. "No. Morgan said he'll come to see you, by the way."

Frank nodded, wanting to hear more details of Lazarro's arrest. He shifted his position, trying to use his left arm to sit himself up a little.

"No Frank, don't move!" said Alex.

Frank stopped, looking at her oddly at the fearful sound to her voice.

"You don't want your heart to flip out again," Jake said, taking Frank's arm to prevent further movement. "The docs said to keep you still."

Frank sighed, feeling a twinge of fear in his stomach. He closed his eyes and focused on the pain in his shoulder instead of fear over his heart and it helped; his shoulder was _killing_ him.

One of the team said something that Frank didn't catch, and he opened his eyes, but before he could say anything, his heart suddenly started doing flips in his chest.

Cody, closest to the door, bolted towards it to call for help, but a nurse flew in before he made it out into the hall.  

A doctor ran in a minute later, and the two of them hovered over Frank, while the team stood nervously nearby.

The doctor injected something into the IV, and a minute or two later, Frank's heartbeat started to calm itself. 

"Doc?!" said Alex, flustered.

The doctor and nurse turned towards them, and the team was relieved to see Frank's eyes still open.

"The tests showed us that the shock caused an atrial fibrillation to develop in your heart," the doc told Frank.

Frank tried not to react openly. _My career—my life—is over! _

The team was very upset. "Is it permanent?!" Monica exclaimed.

"Most likely not," said the doc.

Frank's eyebrows shot up, not expecting to hear that.

"The electrical shock caused a bunch of abnormal signals to occur in your heart," the doctor explained, "Hence the quivering in the upper chambers that occurs with atrial fibrillation."

"And that's not a _permanent_ heart condition?" Jake asked.

The doctor shook his head. "It is in some people, but shouldn't be in _his_ case. Once his heart recovers from the shock he received, the atrium should go back to creating it's normal beat signal."

Frank felt dizzy with relief. 

"'Should'?" Alex said.

The doctor shrugged. "Of course I can't be 100% sure, but I _can_ say I am confident that it _will_ go back to normal."

Everyone smiled, looking at Frank.

"How long will it take?" Frank asked.

The doctor pursed his lips. "It should be back to normal within a few days."

Frank sighed, not liking the idea of being in the hospital for that long.

The doctor looked at Jake. "Are you the one who popped his shoulder back?"

Jake shook his head. "That was courtesy of the police chief."

The doctor smiled, with a nod. "Tell him he did a good job."

Jake nodded. "I will."

"I'll be back to check on you," the doc told Frank, walking towards the door.

Frank nodded halfheartedly, having heard that phrase so many times, he'd grown to hate it. 

"Giving the docs trouble yet?" they heard.

Frank looked up as Chief Morgan came in. 

"We got him, Frank! How you doin'? Okay?"

Frank nodded. "I've had worse."

"What did that doc say?" Morgan asked.

"Frank's heart should be fine in a few days!" said Alex, relieved. "It's only freaking out because the shock messed up his heart's signals."

"Thank God!" Morgan said. "You sure get hurt a lot, Frank. What'd they say about your shoulder?"

Jake answered before Frank had a chance. "The doc said to tell you that you did a good job popping it back."

Morgan's eyebrows flew up. "Really? That's a relief! I may not have looked nervous, but I was. Glad I didn't make it worse or something." 

Frank smiled. "It's nice to know that you weren't sure what you were doing."

Everyone chuckled. 

"Is that any way to say 'thank you'?" Morgan joked.

"Those words weren't on my mind at the time," said Frank, remembering the horrible pain. 

Morgan made a face. "If there was a painless way of doing it, I would've tried!"

Frank smiled. "I know. Thanks."

Morgan smiled back. "Anytime! I think I'll watch 'Trauma team' tonight, and see what _else_ I can learn…"

No, everyone, this is _not_ the end! BWAHAHAHAHA! lolol  ;) 


	11. Just When You Thought it was Safe

Frank had a few more scary episodes, but over the next couple days his heartbeat got closer to normal. On the day he was to leave, he awoke to find the whole team already there. 

They didn't look happy.

"What is it?" Frank asked.

Everyone looked at him, not realizing he was awake.

Jake walked closer, sighing. "Lazarro escaped."

Frank blinked. "What?"

"He escaped," Jake repeated, as if he hadn't heard him the first time.

Frank said nothing, looking shocked. 

"We wanna take you outta here _now_," said Alex. "That way, if he's planning to attack you on the way out this afternoon, you'll have already left."

Frank nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

"We already signed you out, we were just waiting for you to wake up," said Cody.

Frank sat up carefully, using his uninjured arm. "When did he escape?"

"Only a half hour ago," Jake said, helping him when he saw the wince Frank tried to hide.

Frank noticed that the IV was gone, but he was still attached to the heart monitor. He sat on the side of the bed, and carefully attempted to peel the sticky electrodes off.

"Need help?" Monica asked.

Frank shook his head. "I'll manage. You can go, I'll be out in a few minutes."

Everyone nodded, and walked towards the door. 

"We'll be right outside, if you need us," said Alex.

Frank nodded, holding his breath as the electrode came free. _Glad I don't have a hairy chest, _he thought. It seemed like it took forever, but finally he had them all off.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a nurse ran in at full-speed. She skid to a stop when she saw Frank sitting on the side of the bed, free from the heart monitor, which displayed a loud flatline, now that it wasn't hooked up to anyone.

The team was alarmed to see the nurse run in like that and ran in after her. When they realized what had happened, Cody busted out laughing.

The nurse gave them a sheepish look, before leaving.

The team looked at Frank, who looked pretty amused, himself. He looked at the still-flatlining monitor, and involuntarily shuddered. 

The team filed out the door again. "Hurry up, Frank," said Alex, impatient to get him out of the hospital safely.

Frank dressed as fast as he could, mindful of his injuries and still nervous—though he'd never admit it—about his heart. 

A knock sounded on the door. "You okay in there, Frank?" said Monica, knowing he'd be having difficulty with only one arm and aching ribs.

"I'm fine," he called, adjusting the sling on his right arm. With a sigh, he sat on the side of the bed for a minute. He still felt weak; his muscles seemed to be healing slowly from the electrical shock. But then again, he'd been through a lot that day. 

"Can we come in?" he suddenly heard Alex say.

"Yeah," he answered. 

The door opened, and everyone came back in, Cody pushing himself in a wheelchair. 

"This is cool!" he said, trying to spin it around.

Monica shook her head, and whacked him on the arm, to get out of it.

Frank almost protested being wheeled out, but he held his tongue, knowing it was hospital policy, and being thankful that at least no nurses were fighting over the chance to push it for him.

The team gave each other surprised looks when he sat in it without being forced.

"I have a demand," Frank said.

"What's that?" Cody asked, taking the handlebars.

"_You_ don't push this thing."

Cody gave him a mock-hurt look. "Aww, boss! You think I would've been able to afford the insurance on my new car if I wasn't a good driver?"

Frank smiled slightly and shook his head, so Cody assumed his statement had been a joke and he whipped the chair around, pushing it out the door.

"Cody!" Frank said, as they zoomed down the hall faster then he would've liked. "I was _serious_…" 

Cody laughed, and slowed down, stopping so the team could catch up. "Sorry boss!" he said, trying not to laugh.

The rest of the team reached them, all three of them laughing.

"I can't believe you did that, Cody!" said Alex, covering her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Couldn't resist," Cody said. 

"You're a nut," Jake told him, as he took over, pushing the chair at a normal pace.

Frank was relieved to see that his heart was still beating normally, as they made it to the hospital lobby.

"I'll get your truck," Alex said to Jake.

Jake nodded, wanting to stay with Frank, should Lazarro suddenly surprise them.

Alex pulled Jake's Blazer to the curb, and got out, opening the passenger door.

Jake helped Frank out of the chair, and waited for Alex to come back in. The four of them surrounded Frank like a shield, as they got him to the truck and quickly inside. 

Jake hit the button for the power locks, and drove away quickly, breathing a sigh of relief when no attack occurred. 

Alex looked out the windows, alert for any vehicles following. When she spotted none, she faced forward again. 

Frank was also watching for tailers, when suddenly a hand reached around him. He jumped slightly, despite himself. 

"Put on your seatbelt," said Alex, sticking it into his hand.

Frank had to resist the urge to say. 'yes, mother' as he obeyed. He wasn't surprised to see Jake heading in the direction of The Nest, but he _was_ surprised when Jake got on the highway.

"In case Lazarro's following," Jake said, seeing Frank's questioning look.

Frank mentally kicked himself. Of course Jake wouldn't lead Lazarro straight to their HQ. He watched the scenery and the beautiful fall foliage, almost being lulled into a doze. He was brought out of it rudely when his cell phone suddenly rang.

"Donovan," he said.

"Guess who?"

Frank inhaled sharply, having completely forgotten that Lazarro had his cell phone number.

"Surprised to hear from me, huh? Did you really think it would be that easy to get rid of me?"

Frank looked at his team members, to see that they'd figured out who was on the phone.

"I have a bomb detonator in my hand, Frankie boy," said Lazarro. "I know where you are, and where you'll _now_ be heading."

Frank closed his eyes. _This time he'll succeed in hurting a lot of people… _"And _where_ are we headed?" he asked.

"The Chicago Mall," Lazarro said. "I'm on the roof, ready to hit the button that will set off the bomb I set in the building. And before you call the cops on me, keep in mind that I won't hesitate to kill them."

"So you're taking me up on my offer then?" Frank asked.

"Your offer of surrendering, to save everyone else?" said Lazarro. "Yeah, looks like I have no choice. You won again; managed to save everyone but the bus driver, who I understand was on his way out anyway." Lazarro gave a cruel laugh. "It'll end _today_. You and me, face to face…"


	12. The Confrontation!

Frank looked at Jake, to see that he was waiting to be told where to go. "The Chicago Mall," he said.

"That your sidekick?" said Lazarro, over the phone. "I admit, I had _no_ idea another one of you was already on that bus. I could've hit two birds with one stone," he sighed, wistfully. 

"Where are you on the roof?" Frank asked, ignoring his comments.

"Uh uh," said Lazarro. "I ain't tellin' you that. Just pull in the main entrance and wait. Remember, if I see any cops, they die!"

Everyone watched as Frank lowered his phone, hitting the hang-up button. 

"Frank…"

"Don't say it," Frank cut Alex off, knowing what she was about to say. "I'd offered myself in exchange for the bus passengers. He declined, sure that he would succeed, but as we know he didn't, and so…"

"How you gonna defend yourself, boss?" asked Cody.

Frank glanced at him. "I'll deal with that when the time comes." He sighed. "He set a bomb in the mall," he told them, to their shock. "He only knows that Jake is with me, not any of you. If you can get a clear shot from the ground, take it."

"But what about the bomb?" Monica asked. "If we shoot him a non-fatal shot, he'll set it off."  

Frank sighed, wishing he had use of both arms. If he did, he might be able to take Lazarro out and get the detonator before any damage or loss of life could occur.

They arrived at the mall, and pulled in. Frank's cell phone rang, and he quickly answered it.

"I see you!" Lazarro said. "Tell your sidekick that's a nice truck." 

Frank didn't even bother asking how Lazarro found out what kind of vehicle Jake owned. "Where are we going?"

"Straight ahead. Park in that spot near the front."

Frank relayed the instructions to Jake, and he obeyed.

"Now," said Lazarro. "Get out."

Frank hung up his phone and started to take off his seatbelt, but Jake grabbed his arm, stopping him. 

"Frank, you're walking to your execution!" 

Frank looked at his nervous teammates. "Lazarro's the kind of man who likes to gloat, and most likely give a slow death." He looked to Monica, who nodded her head in agreement. "He's not just gonna pull the trigger the minute I step out of this truck." 

Everyone had skeptical looks on their faces.

"Call Morgan," Frank said. "Tell him the situation, and that he _must_ keep his officers completely out of sight."

Jake nodded. 

Frank nodded back, and got out of the Blazer, answering his phone when it rang again.

"Aww, Frankie boy only has _one_ usable arm!" Lazarro said. "It's not gonna be easy climbing the ladder on the side of this building." 

Frank looked around, and spotted the ladder. Walking towards it, he couldn't see Lazarro on the roof, pointing a gun at him, following his steps until he disappeared from view, having reached the ladder. 

Frank put his phone in his pocket and slowly climbed the ladder with one hand. Looking down when he was halfway up, he was glad to see that the ladder was sturdy.                                                 

"Need some help there, Frankie boy? You're not afraid of heights, are you?"

Startled, Frank looked up to see Lazarro at the edge of the roof, smiling down at him. Thankfully, Frank saw no weapon in view.

"Well? You gonna stay there all day?" Lazarro asked.

Knowing he had no choice, Frank climbed the rest of the way.

Suddenly Lazarro grabbed his arm, and Frank briefly wondered if he was going to push him off the ladder, but to his surprise Lazarro helped pull him up onto the roof, where Frank quickly got to his feet, watching Lazarro warily. 

Lazarro just stood there, smiling, as if Frank was his long-lost brother. "Well, well, well. Frank Donovan; we meet again! Slide your gun over here."

Frank took it out of his holster, and placed it on the ground, pushing it in the criminal's direction. 

Lazarro kicked it behind himself, a move that surprised Frank. _He must already have a gun._

Lazarro suddenlyput a hand inside his jacket, and took out the detonator. He walked closer to Frank, holding it out in front of him. "How powerful do you think that baby is?" He smiled, like a child putting his drawing on the fridge. "It's got four sticks of dynamite. Nice, huh? Shall I put it to good use?"

Frank was sick of the game. "You got what you wanted: me," he said. "Let me give Jake the detonator."

Lazarro made a face at him. "Shyeah right! This is my insurance policy!"

Frank casually walked along the edge of the roof, hoping Lazarro would go closer; in view of his team. "What are you going to do now, Lazarro? Are we just going to stand here and chat?"

Lazarro walked closer. "In a hurry to die? Fine with me!"

Frank didn't quite expect the punch that Lazarro suddenly threw, but he managed to move, only catching a glancing blow. He nearly lost his balance and fell off the roof, but managed to run around to the other side of Lazarro, away from the edge. 

As Lazarro lunged for him, Frank moved to the side—making Lazarro miss—and ran over to his gun, which was still lying on the roof. He picked it up in his left hand, and pointed it at the criminal.

Lazarro started to laugh. "You can't shoot me, Frankie boy! I'll blow this place before you get the chance!"

For once, Frank wasn't sure what action he should take. He couldn't risk the deaths of the people inside the mall.

Lazarro then drew his own gun. "Drop it."

Frank slowly lowered his. _This is it,_ he thought, _the situation I couldn't get out of._

Lazarro started walking closer to Frank, sticking the detonator into his pocket. Grabbing Frank by his jacket, he punched him in the face, and pulled him over to the edge of the roof.

"Hey cops!" he yelled, putting the gun to Frank's head. "I know you're out there! I'm gonna kill Donovan right in front of you!"

Before Frank even had the chance to think, a shot was heard, and Frank took the opportunity to elbow Lazarro in the stomach, knocking him over as he whacked the gun out of his hand and went for the detonator. 

They landed hard, Frank wincing as his sore ribs impacted with the roof. 

Lazarro grabbed Frank's wrist before he got away with the detonator, and tried to pry it out of his hand.

Frank pulled his right arm out of the sling, trying to ignore the pain as he tried to keep the device from Lazarro. He knew he wouldn't succeed; Lazarro had two strong arms, while Frank only had one and a half, at present. 

Lazarro easily threw Frank off himself and rolled over, now having the advantage. He punched Frank in the face again, hoping to weaken his grip on the detonator.

Lazarro almost succeeded; the pain Frank was feeling in his shoulder and ribs was already more then enough for him, but suddenly he felt something sticking into his back, and realized it was Lazarro's gun. He had no choice but to use his right arm to grab it, gasping as his shoulder screamed its protest at being twisted around.

Lazarro realized what Frank was doing, and managed to wrest the detonator from his grasp as Frank got the gun.

"Blow it and I'll kill you!" Frank said, trying to quickly stand.

"Too late," Lazarro said. "I'm as good as dead anyway, now!"

As he hit the button, Frank pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot was muted by the sound of the bomb's explosion.


	13. Payback! LOL

Frank opened his eyes, to see blue sky above him. _The bomb went off! _He tried to sit up, but his aching ribs and now completely useless right shoulder made it difficult. 

Lazarro was also lying on the roof, motionless. Frank reached over and grabbed the detonator from his hand, sticking it into his pocket.

He suddenly heard his name being called, as he finally managed to sit up.

"Frank!"

Looking towards the ladder, he saw Morgan, Jake, and the rest of his team climbing onto the roof.

"Are you all right?" Morgan asked, reaching Frank first and grabbing his arm, to help him up. 

Frank nodded with a wince, holding up his hand in a 'stop' gesture to Morgan, his body not wanting him to get up yet. "The bomb…"

"It was a big one all right," said Morgan. "But no one was hurt."

Jake nodded, crouching to Frank's eye level. "We managed to get everyone out, through one of the doors on the other side of the place."

Frank sighed with relief as he gingerly put his arm back in the sling.

"This sucker's still alive!" Alex exclaimed. 

Everyone looked down to see Lazarro stirring, groaning at the pain of the gunshot wound in his shoulder.

"Once again," said Morgan, taking out his handcuffs. "You're under arrest!"

********************

"Are you serious?"

Frank walked into the nest to hear Cody's shocked voice. 

"Frank was holding a baby, trying to make it stop crying?" Alex said, just as shocked.

"Yup," said Jake. "And he succeeded!"

"I wish you'd had a camera with you," said Monica.

"Heh," said Cody. "He wouldn't've been able to take a picture while driving the bus."

"Don't remind me," said Jake. "I am _never _taking a bus again as long as I live!"

"I don't blame you," said Monica.

"You should've called one of us for a ride!" said Alex, suddenly realizing it.

"I didn't want to make anyone leave the Nest to come get me," said Jake, sheepishly. 

No one said anything, shaken at the fact that Jake's consideration for them could've gotten him killed.

Frank cleared his throat, to alert them of his presence.

"Hey boss!" said Cody.  "Or should I say, goo goo ga ga!"

Frank smiled as he joined them, sitting down carefully. 

"Jake was telling us about the baby on the bus," said Monica, not knowing he'd heard them. "That was really sweet."

"Surprising, too," said Jake. "Made me wonder if you had a thing for her mother."

Frank shot him an indignant look. "I was merely trying to help a young, terrified woman with a baby!"

Jake smiled. "I know."

"So how's the shoulder?" Alex asked.

Frank pulled his arm out of the sling, extending it slightly, and then putting it back. "Getting better. The ribs, too."

Cody started to laugh. "Did anyone notice the irony of Lazarro's wound? Frank shot him in the shoulder." He looked at Frank. "He hurt _your_ shoulder, you hurt _his_. Revenge?"

Frank shook his head. "He set off the bomb the same time I pulled the trigger. I didn't have much time to aim for any specific area." 

"Well," said Cody. "So far, everyone got to take a spin in my car except for you, boss."

Frank almost raised his eyebrows, having secretly wanted to see what the brand new Mustang Cobra could do.

Cody took the keys out of his pocket, but then suddenly made a face and put them back.

"What?" Jake asked.

"It's a standard," said Cody.

Everyone looked at Frank's arm.

"Looks like you gotta wait, Frank," said Alex.

Frank showed no emotion. "Looks that way," he agreed. 

Cody suddenly smiled. "Kidding! It's an automatic. Standards are too inconvenient. I like to get in, throw it in 'drive', and go." He tossed the keys at Frank, who didn't expect it and missed catching them with his left hand. They bounced off his chest instead.

"Opps!" Cody exclaimed, his jaw dropping. "Sorry!"

Frank gave him a mock-glare. "For that, I'll have to make sure I take it on the highway and push it to its maximum speed."

Cody made a face as if that was something he did NOT want to hear. He knew Frank was a good driver though, so he held his tongue, figuring he was joking.

Frank stood, and gestured to Cody to follow him. "Well be back," he told the others.

Cody got up, and warily followed. 

********************

"Don't you think they've been gone a long time?" Monica asked.

Alex sighed, looking at her watch. "Been almost an hour. Yeah, long."

Jake chuckled. "We can't exactly complain to anyone about our boss joyriding!"

Just then, they heard the door close. Looking behind themselves, they saw Frank walking into the room.

"Frank!" said Alex. "Where's Cody?"

"Right behind me," Frank said, looking like he was trying to hide a smile.

Everyone watched for Cody, wondering what was going on.

Cody finally stumbled in, hair everywhere, his face pale.

Everyone stood. "Cody! What happened?" Monica demanded.

Cody stopped before them, and opened his mouth to answer. Nothing came out, however, and he finally pointed at Frank, his hand shaking. "HE happened, that's what!"

They all turned to look at Frank in confusion, who couldn't continue the neutral expression anymore, and finally smiled.

"Payback," is all he said.

"Payback?!" Cody screeched. "What I did to you in the hospital with the wheelchair in NO WAY compares to what YOU just did!"

The team had to hold back their smiles as they figured it out. "And _what_ did he do, Cody?" Jake asked, trying to hide a smirk.

Cody plopped down on the couch. "He drove down rt 94 going 120, with the top down!" Cody said. "Weaving in and out of lanes! Beeping the horn when people didn't get out of his way fast enough! Taking exits at 60! He FLEW by a cop, even, and the cop tried, but couldn't, catch us!"

The team's jaws dropped, at that one. Was Cody really talking about Frank Donovan?

"You eluded a cop?!" Monica gasped.

"Not exactly," said Frank, defending himself, but looking contrite. "That wasn't intentional. When I realized I'd passed a cop I saw him pull out of his spot and turn on his lights in the rearview mirror, but I guess he didn't bother, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch us."

"Yeah," said Jake, shaking his head. "Sounds like you had a pretty big head start!"

"You could've lost your license, for going that fast!" Alex exclaimed, still shocked that Frank had done such a thing.

Frank nodded. 

Jake shook his head, and finally started to laugh. "Who'd've thought Frank Donovan would lose his license for reckless driving, in Cody's car!" Everyone laughed with him.

"Sorry, Cody, I couldn't resist," said Frank, throwing Cody's words back at him. 

A grumble was Cody's only answer. 

THE END! lolol

Thanks everyone, for your wonderful reviews, LOL I bet you didn't expect THAT for an ending, lol! 


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